Mutagenicity tests of fabric-finishing agents in Salmonella typhimurium: fiber-reactive wool dyes and cotton flame retardants.

Thirty-nine fabric-finishing agents were tested for mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium. Twenty-four fiber-reactive wool dyes and three acid dyes (not fiber-reactive) were screened by spot tests in strains TA100, TA98, TA1535, and TA1537. Among these dyes, seven bromoacrylamide dyes and one vinyl sulfone dye were mutagenic. Additionally, one of the three acid dyes was mutagenic in spot tests. The mutagenicity of the acid dye was due to an impurity or breakdown product rather than to the dye itself; the origin of the activities of the other dyes is unknown. No mutagenicity was observed among five chlorotriazine or four sulfonyl-ethane sulfonic acid dyes. Eight phosphorus-containing flame retardants (phosphonium, phosphine, phosphine oxide, and phosphonic acid derivatives) and methyl-N-methylolcarbamate, which is employed to obtain a flame-retardant finish on cotton, were tested for mutagenicity in strains TA100, TA98, TA1535, and TA1537, using quantitative incorporation assays. All were nonmutagenic. Two of three bromoalkyl-substituted triazine flame retardants were mutagenic in strains TA100 and TA1535. It is unknown whether this activity is due to impurities or to the parent compound. The flame retardants tested were either in actual commercial use or in experimental development for potential commercial processes. These results indicate the need for early testing of potential fabric-finishing agents and processes.